D.C. pitches truancy crackdown
Bill limits prosecutorial leeway as city tackles violence
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require the Office of the Attorney General in D.C. to more aggressively prosecute children and teens who commit certain crimes and take action to resolve all truancy cases — a proposal that would limit prosecutorial discretion as local leaders try to address a crisis among young people in the District.
In a move decried by some advocates and attorneys, the bill would restrict prosecutors from using plea agreements for youths charged with violent offenses and ban diversion programs for those facing gun charges. The District’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice said she was “OK” if the bill meant more youths would be locked behind bars, continuing the administration’s push for more punitive criminal justice policies after a historically violent 2023 in the nation’s capital.
“If it increases commitment, we’re OK with that,” Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor, said of the bill. “We’re committed to ensuring that our kids get the right services [and] supports to make them and the community safe.”
The bill, which targets changes in the criminal justice system and schools, comes as elected officials face pressure to address two separate issues hurting children and teens in the District: an increase in violence and alarmingly high truancy rates. Local leaders have been careful not to link the two issues, as most kids who miss school are not committing crimes. But Bowser and members of the D.C. council have said that increasing school attendance is a necessary part of keeping children safe and out of trouble. Two council members recently introduced separate measures addressing truancy — defined as a student missing at least 10 full days of school without a formal excuse — and absenteeism.
The Office of the Attorney General has publicly stated that it does not view prosecution as the appropriate response to truancy, a position echoed in a 2019 report commissioned by the mayor. Last year, the office received 295 truancy referrals — a fraction of the number of students who are often absent from D.C. schools.
Some research suggests the potential of more legal consequences for children is not helpful. A study published by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, an independent D.C. agency, found that recidivism for children and teens in a 2018 cohort increased as they moved deeper into the system. In the last fiscal year, the attorney general’s office said it diverted 15 cases with a lead charge of violence.
The office declined to comment on the mayor’s proposal. “We just received the bill this morning and are reviewing,” a spokesperson said. “We look forward to offering an analysis once we’ve had a chance to assess it in full.”
The mayor’s bill, which she unveiled with her long-awaited $21 billion budget for the next fiscal year, would also allow middle school principals to suspend students who bring drugs or weapons to school, create an alternative campus for students with severe behavioral problems, and modify the referral process for children with poor attendance.
“We are glad that there’s some focus and attention on the issue of school disengagement and absenteeism,” said Danielle Robinette, a senior policy attorney at Children’s Law Center in D.C. “I think the ‘but’ there is that the focus really needs to be on breaking down those barriers. When we’re thinking about commonly reported barriers to attendance, it comes down to things like health care access, behavioral health care concerns, unstable housing, food insecurity, not feeling safe in their communities, not having transportation to begin with.”
Last year in D.C., 37% of students — and 47% of high schoolers — were truant. Overall, 43% of students were chronically absent, which includes excused and unexcused absences, for at least 10% of the school year, or about 18 days. Those figures are improvements from the 2021-2022 school year, but still higher than pre-pandemic attendance levels, mirroring patterns nationwide as schools struggle to get students in the habit of attending every day.
Meanwhile, 106 children and teens were shot in 2023, 16 of them fatally. Two other youths were fatally beaten, and another was fatally stabbed. More youths were also accused of pulling the trigger last year than in the previous one.
Last month, three girls ages 12 and 13 were charged with fatally beating a man. None of the girls had previous arrests, but all three had long-standing truancy issues, according to information released in court. Bowser, in a recent television interview addressing the crime, teased the forthcoming bill.
Under the mayor’s bill, the city would refer students who are truant but have fewer than 25 absences to the Department of Human Services, to give families resources such as case management and group therapy to determine why a child is missing class. Children between 5 and 13 would be sent to the agency after 10 unexcused absences. Older students would be referred after 15 absences.
If a younger student continues to miss school, up to 20 days, they will be sent to the city’s Child and Family Services Agency, where investigators are tasked with finding signs of abuse or neglect that may contribute to absences, according to the bill.
Any student — regardless of age — who racks up 25 unexcused absences will be referred to D.C.’s attorney general for consequences. That office in recent years has not prosecuted any parents — who, by law, can be fined or imprisoned if their child is truant — and referred 21% of students to court diversion programs, a spokesperson said. In the remaining 79% of cases, the office said in a statement, attorneys “could not address those cases for a variety of reasons, including insufficient information from the schools: addresses could be wrong, the contact information outdated, families moved, situation has changed and kids are now in school.”
The mayor’s bill, however, would force the attorney general to do more in all cases — either by referring a family for mandatory participation in a group conference, compelling the family to take part in a court diversion program or prosecuting a parent or guardian.
“Currently, there are many instances in which young people are referred either to [court] or the [Office of the Attorney General] and nothing happens,” said Paul Kihn, the city’s deputy mayor for education. “And so this legislation is disallowing that.”
Robinette said including the human services agency is a “step in the right direction,” but shared concerns about prosecuting parents — even if it is seen as a last resort. “We’ve looked at jurisdictions across the country, and time and time again, best practice is to point away from punitive responses.”
School officials in neighboring districts have also been focused on efforts to bring children back into the classroom. Virginia launched a statewide chronic absenteeism task force in the fall. In Fairfax County, where about 13% of students are chronically absent, the district is trying to understand the individual reasons for absences and better communicate the importance of being in the classroom.
In Montgomery County, Maryland’s largest school district, a truancy prevention program aims to encourage family relationship-building, not punishment. A truancy review board handles about 10 truancy cases a month in Montgomery, The Washington Post previously reported.
In addition to proposing more ways to improve attendance, Bowser’s bill also calls for changes in how to address the behavior of students while they’re in school buildings. One provision would make it easier for middle schools to deal out harsher punishments for serious offenses. It follows what schools in D.C. and across the country have described as an uptick in violence and socio-emotional problems since the pandemic started.
Eduardo Ferrer, visiting professor at the Georgetown Law Juvenile Justice Clinic and policy director for the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Initiative, criticized the provision that would make it easier to suspend middle schoolers. “We can’t tell [kids] you have to go to school at the same time that schools are telling kids they don’t want them to be there,” Ferrer said.
He also criticized portions of the bill that would increase punishment for certain youths. “The research is clear, and it’s supported by data here in the District, that our goal should be to provide people with what they need to succeed with the lightest touch possible from the juvenile justice system,” Ferrer said.
Bowser’s bill also calls for creating an alternative school for students with the most severe behavioral problems — such as bringing a weapon to school or hurting another student — that would be run by D.C. Public Schools. She has requested $1.6 million to fund the project, slated to be piloted with 10 to 20 students.
The site would offer an alternative to in-school suspensions, Kihn said. Students would spend between 11 and 45 days there — the location has not been determined yet — and receive behavioral and academic support from social workers and teachers.
Robinette said the idea seems reminiscent of the now-defunct CHOICE Academy Middle/High School, where students served out long-term suspensions. “CHOICE didn’t work,” Robinette said, adding that it isolated students from their school communities and did not provide sufficient special education services.
Kihn said the new program will be mirrored after an approach taken in D.C.’s traditional public school district, where students in in-school suspension spend time with a counselor.